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Stratton grad sees JAG action
NORFOLK NAVAL STATION, VA -- Television shows like JAG bring a dramatic flair to law and justice in the military.
Understanding the intricacies of the legal system is equally important to the men and women serving in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, in which every command is required to have a collateral duty legal representative. One such representative is Navy Ens. Christopher Forch.
Forch, son of Paul and Patricia Forch of Trenton, is stationed on board the coastal mine hunter ship, USS Shrike (MHC-62), as a damage control assistant. Now Forch can add another duty to his list of responsibilities: command legal officer.
The commissioned officer, senior enlisted Sailor, or Marine assigned as-legal officer need not hold a law degree or pass a lawyer's State Bar Exam. Instead, he or she must attend training in military eriminal law, military justice procedures, and civil and administrative law provided by the Naval Justice School. Campuses are located at naval bases in San Diego, Rhode Island, and Norfolk.
As a student at NJS, Norfolk, Va., Forch learned a variety of professional legislative skills. "I have learned the basics of military law and the measures that are taken against those who violate the laws set forth by the Uniform Code of Military Justice," said the 26-year-old naval officer.
The legal officer course at NJS is 30 days worth of instruction designed to provide background in non-judicial punishment, courts-martial and Judge Advocate General (JAG) investigations. Approximately 1,000 officers and senior enlisted Sailors and Marines graduate from the course every year.
"I can better represent my command to the best of my abilities now," said Forch.
The new skills Forch learned from the course will be extremely useful at his command.
"I can help my commanding officer establish guidelines to promote good order and discipline within the command," said Forch, who graduated from Stratton Public High School in Stratton in 1994.
Forch became a naval officer in 2001 through the NROTC program at Universiy of Nebraska-Lincoln. "I joined the Navy because I wanted a career with leadership potential and a chance to explore the world," he said.
On the TV shows, the legal dramas are neatly dealt with and resolved in one hour, plus commercials.
As one of the real-life legal officers in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, Forch must promote law, order and justice among the men and women of the sea services to help carry out the military's mission every day.